Top 5 LCCs that belong in a global alliance
The rush is on to woo discount airlines for the global alliances. AirAsia heads our list of “most wanted” new members.
Oneworld changes the game with Air Berlin addition
Air Berlin’s addition to Oneworld could permanently change the alliance system. But will a two-tier membership structure be needed to protect full-price airlines from their low-cost partner?
AMR president: Alliance is worth $500 million
The Dallas Business Journal caught up with Tom Horton, the newly named president of AMR Corp., on his first day of work — just hours after American Airlines got final U.S. approval for its joint venture with British Airways. Horton said the approval was “a very big deal for American” and its Oneworld partners after [...]
Alliances largely quiet at Farnborough Airshow
About $29 billion in aircraft orders were announced this week at the world’s largest airshow, but airlines affiliated with the three global alliances stayed mostly on the sidelines during the buying frenzy. The Farnborough International Airshow continues through Sunday just outside of London, but weekend events are geared toward the general public, while most trade [...]
Will JetBlue be the next member of Oneworld?
American Airlines and JetBlue Airways announced this week they will extend their marketing partnership with 30 new interlining agreements and frequent-flier reciprocity. American adds 18 new cities to its route map, and JetBlue gets to offer its customers choice European destinations such as London, Paris and Rome. The limited partnership has already led some observers [...]
Trifecta: Why Iberia matters in the AA/BA tie-up
In all the hubbub over European approval for a joint venture between American Airlines and British Airways, one small detail — a $7.5 billion detail — was frequently overlooked. After months of review, regulators also cleared a merger between BA and Iberia, helping to keep the Oneworld partners abreast of Air France/KLM and Lufthansa in [...]
At last, open skies over the Atlantic
The European Commission righted a major wrong this week by granting antitrust immunity to American Airlines and British Airways for routes across the Atlantic. It’s only overdue by about a decade, and while AA/BA spun their wheels, competing alliances moved ahead with precisely the kind of joint venture that was denied to Oneworld. When the [...]
Oneworld reaches for the stars
Oneworld got a lot of good PR this year when travelers voted it the Best Airline Alliance in the Skytrax 2010 World Airline Awards. Nearly 18 million travelers voted in this particular beauty contest, and Oneworld deserves kudos for winning the popular count with a frequent-flier membership base less than half the size of Star’s [...]
Hearts & Minds: The battle for road warriors’ loyalty
If the Wall Street Journal says it, it must be true: Individual airlines are becoming irrelevant as global alliances get ever-bigger and more inclusive. Okay, that’s not an exact quote, but it is the gist of Scott McCartney’s outstanding column. The exact quote, from Star Alliance VP Christian Klick, is this: “Competition used to be [...]
For semi-frequent fliers, “status” is relative
Few business travelers can earn all their miles with a single alliance, no matter how hard they try. Since you probably won’t earn top-tier status with your “fallback” alliance, it’s worth asking what kind of perks you can expect if your status never rises above silver level (or its equivalent). If Silver status is the [...]
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